Director Bhanu Bharti has been accused of invoking 'anti-national' sentiments

Tamasha Jo Na Hua, a play enacted at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal on August 18, has got embroiled in a high drama off the stage.

BJP's cultural cell has lodged a criminal complaint against the writer and director of the play, Bhanu Bharti, alleging sedition.

'Through his play, Bharti tries to invoke anti-national sentiments, particularly in the context of the Farakka Barrage and its effect on Bangladesh's agriculture and fisheries.

'He (Bhanu) has also linked the Baglihar dam on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir to water scarcity in Pakistan. It appears that the director is siding with those nations rather than India,' Rajesh Bhadoriya, convener, BJP cultural cell, said.

Tamasha… stages a discussion among the artistes on the relevance of people's freedom in current political, technological and cultural context. Though the debate remains inconclusive in the play, Bhadoriya has claimed that it is antinational in its treatment and message.

Bhanu, who has over 50 plays to his credit, said he only portrayed what he found convincing in the context of the play.

'The play has been staged many times. I see nothing objectionable in it,' he said. The play has invited criticism from a few other quarters as well.

'I have seen Tamasha Jo Na Hua. I think there was no need to make references to the dam in Kashmir and infiltration from Bangladesh. Such dialogues can hurt sentiments...' said renowned theatre personality and National School of Drama (NSD) graduate Alok Chatterjee.

Tamasha… is not the only play that has irked the saffron brigade. Last week, another play Kneel Down, to be staged by the students of NSD, had to be cancelled under pressure from saffron outfits.

Kneel Down portrayed the life of three women working at an S&M (sadist and masochist) club. This play was also scheduled to be staged at Bharat Bhavan. Though the organisers claimed the play could not be staged because the key actors were not well, BJP leader Shiv Shankar Pateria claimed that he had gone to Bharat Bhavan to stop the play.

Staging plays at Bharat Bhavan is becoming a problem for the organisers. Bharat Bhavan Trust, an advisory body constituted by the BJP government to avoid any conflict between the trust and its cultural outfits on ideological issues, had approved both Tamasha… and Kneel Down.

'There is an advisory body in Bharat Bhavan that selects the plays to be staged. It seems something has gone wrong. An inquiry would be conducted into the matter,' said minister for culture Laxmikant Sharma.